Batch I guidelines for phase II of India’s national solar mission now approved

Saturday, October 19, 2013: A draft proposal was submitted earlier seeking permission to change the payment of the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) assistance. The proposal has now been approved. The first batch of guidelines for the most ambitious solar mission, Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase II have been approved.

When the guidelines for Phase II were initially published earlier this month, the Batch I proposal outlined a change to the Viability Funding Gap (VGF) that would allow developers to apply for support to cover 30 per cent of project costs, or Rs 25 million/MW, whichever is the lower, so long as they funded at least Rs 15 million/MW themselves, reported PV magazine.

The proposal was finally rubber-stamped by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) today, who had upheld the complete terms of the payment system. Additionally, the ministry had also upheld the second portion of the Phase II stipulation, which involved domestic content requirements.

As part of the ruling, project owners will not be able to sell their plants for the first 12 months at least. This has been decided by the government to discourage foreign owners acquiring Indian interests through back door means.